Samsung phones with bendable screens could arrive next year

Samsung isn’t afraid to use its display expertise to try new smartphone form factors. Aside from its successful Edge line in recent years, the company has been experimenting with rollable and foldable screens, and according to a Bloomberg report the Korean company is almost ready to bring the technology into a commercial product.

Sources familiar with the matter claim Samsung is considering introducing two new smartphone models with bendable OLED screens. The report is very light on details but presumably one of the phones will feature a folding clamshell design described as being like a cosmetic compact, and the other will have a 5-inch screen that unfurls into an 8-inch tablet.

Codenamed “Project Valley”, the devices could be unveiled as soon as February next year for Mobile World Congress. They won’t arrive under the Galaxy S moniker, Bloomberg says, likely because the company wants to gauge the market’s interest in phones with foldable screens before bringing them to its flagship lineup.

It remains to be seen of there’s really a market for bendable phones or if Samsung can come up with a user interface that makes sense for such a device.

On a related note, the Bloomberg report also mentions Samsung may name the next version of its Note device as the “Note 7” (and possibly Note 7 Edge as well), skipping a number to bring it in line with its flagship Galaxy S smartphone range.